in the distance, the trapped city officials could hear the sound of sirens. laura pearson: and it was, oh god, it was wonderful. you know? but then it took forever, you know. and then i could hear somebody's voice outside saying, "are there friendlies in there?" and, you know, wanting to respond, but knowing that i shouldn't because last time i saw him, he still had the gun in his hand and not, you know, being able to remember how many rounds, you know, did he have another clip, you know, what was going on-- so there was no way i was going to respond. gunfire was exchanged between the shooter and the police. and then all of a sudden the shot rang out. and then i felt the burning, the pain of the bullet or the lead that i got. and remembered-- i remember thinking, "hold still, hold still," you know, i don't know if he's up, i don't know if he's down, i don't know if he has a gun, but, you know, hold still. the gunman was wounded, and the hostages were rescued just 18 minutes after the ordeal had begun. it was a great moment of relief to see them come into the